The subways in New York are much more interesting than in D.C. and many stations have really really cool mosaics and art deco touches. These were in the station near the hotel we stayed in near Times Square and there were more on the other side of the track. It was all I could do to keep from hopping over the third rail to go to the other side and take pictures of the rest.
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April 13, 2009 at 11:49 AM
The NYC Transit system has always been an endless source of fascination for me. Its lore, myths and secrets keep me occupied for hours at a time. Originally (in 1904) the subways were designed opulently because it was feared that people wouldn't want to descend en masse into an underground cavern to travel. Each station was designed with tile and given artwork that reflected its neighborhood or namesake, or just simply ornate tile and faux tile columns. When the transit system was overhauled in the 80's-90's, they actually added and Arts for Transit program that put murals and many other mediums inside the subways.
Read more here:
http://www.nycsubway.org, an excellent resource for any curiosity about the NYC Transit system, and particularly
http://www.nycsubway.org/perl/artwork - a guide to Subway Art.
April 14, 2009 at 2:21 PM
I am HUGE Alice in Wonderland fan myself. I love your blog. I'm curious to know...why did you feel like you fell down the rabbit hole when you moved to DC? I've lived here my whole life...but then again, I've always sort of felt like I was living in a place where nothing made any sense...
April 14, 2009 at 3:51 PM
@Josh: Thanks for the url. I've wanted to read that book 722 Miles for some time now. I don't know much about the history, but I'll bet it's fascinating.
@Positively: I think the rabbit hole feeling had more to do with the fact that I was working for the DC government in the 1990s (the dark years) than it had to do with living in DC in general. I moved for the job and then it turned out to not be anything I expected or was told it would be. RIFs, furloughs, reduction of health care benefits, not having an office much less a chair to sit in, government closures when they couldn't agree on a budget, and sharing pencils because there was no money to buy supplies... all that and more in just my first year of that job. Fortunately, I pushed through and have found a home here.